Cord winder



Jan. 15, 1946.- p, BORKOSK. 2,393,138

. CORD WINDER Filed April 27, 1944 Patented Jan. 15,

CORD WINDER Leon 1. Borkoski, Stamford, Conn., assignor to ElectroiuxCorporation, Old Greenwich, Conn, a corporation of Delaware iApplication April 27, 1944, Serial No. 532,999

. 11 Claims.

. My invention relates to a cord winder which may be used for winding upany flexible cord as, for instance, the electric cord of varioushousehold appliances such as vacuum cleaners.

In application Serial No. 529,440, filed April 4,

1944, by Arnold H. Beede, there is shown a cord winder of this natureWhich is provided with a member sensitive to the direction of movementof the cord for controlling the application of a brake which, whenapplied, prevents rotation of the drum under the influence of the rewindspring. This member includes a washer of felt or other suitable materialthrough which the cord runs, with suflicient friction to displace thewasher in the direction of movement of the cord.

In accordance with the present invention, this felt washeris replaced bya preferably resiliently supported member in sliding engagement with arotating portion of the reel, such as the surface of the brake drum, soas to be sensitive to the direction of such rotation. This member is soarranged as to be removed from engagement with the reel when the cord isbeing unwound to thereby entirely relieve frictional resistance to suchunwinding and to reduce wear. Also, in the Beede device, any dirt ordust adhering to the cord as it is drawn into the-winder, is wiped edand collected by the felt washer with the result that the frictionalresistance between the washer and the cord may change as the formerbecomes fouled. In the present application, on the other" tary impulse,after which it remains released until the cord is completely wound onthe reel, or until winding the cord is stopped by grasping it andpulling it out slightly. r

The latter. which serves as a mounting plate for certain parts of theapparatus, is shown chiefly broken away in order to reveal the mechanismof the cord winder. I

Rigidly secured to both the front and back walls is ashaft is on whichis rotatably mounted a cord reel 20. Fixed to the reel is a brake drum22. A spiral spring 24 has its inner end anchored to the stationaryshaft it, while its outer end is secured to a rotating part of the reel,such as the inner surface of the'brake drum 22.

A cord 26 is adapted to be wound on the reel 28 and passes in and out ofthe casing ill through an opening 28 formed in the side wall M. Thiscord is provided with an enlargement at the outer end thereof which isofgreater diameter than that of the opening 28. As shown, thisenlargement consists of the usual electric plug connector 30.

An arcuatebrake arm 32 partially surrounds I the drum 22 and isrestrained against rotation by means of a pin 34 which is carried by thefront wall it, and which engages an elongated slot 36 formed in the armnear one end thereof, thus permitting sideways movement and pivoting ofthe arm. The arm carries a pair of brake shoes 38 and 46 which are shownas separate elements 'pivotally mounted on the arm by means of pins 42and 4t, respectively. However, pivotal movement between the shoes andthe arm is not essential and hence. the shoes could be made integralwith the arm. As is clearly shown in Fig. i, the

, centers of the brake shoes are disposed a little Further objects andadvantages of my inven-- tion will be apparent from the followingdescription considered in connection with the accompanving'drawing whichforms a part of this specification and of which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the parts in a still"diflerent position.

Referring to the figures, reference character it designates generally ahousing having a. back wall l2, a curved side wall l4, and a top wallI6.

more than 180 apart around the drum and the distance between the facesof the two shoes is slightly less than the diameter of the drum. A coilspring 46 is connected between the end of the arm 32 remote from the pin34, and a stationary pin 48 carried by the front wall 16. This springurges the right end of arm 32, as viewed in Fig.1, upwardly and hencetends to press the shoes 38 and against the surface of the brake drumPivotally mounted on a pin 50 carried by the front wall 18 is abrakereleasing arm 52 which is provided with a manually operable button orthe like 54 which projects through an opening 56 in the side wall 14. Acoil spring 58, is connected between the arm 52 and a pin 60 carried bythe front wall. and tends to rotate the arm in a counter-clockwisedirection, such rotation being limited by a stop 6| projecting from thefront wall. The end of the arm 52 opposite from the button 54 isprovided with a pin 62 to which is connected one end of a link 64. Theopposite end of this link is formed with an elongated, slot 66 whichembraces a pin 68 secured to the brake arm 32, the pin and slotproviding a certain amount of lost motion between the arm and the link.A stop I is carried by the front wall l6 and is disposed so as to limitmovement of the arm 32 under the action of the lever 52 and link 54..

A catch member 12 is pivotally mounted on a pin I4 carried by the frontwall and is provided with a projection I6 which is adapted to engage asimilar projection I8 formed on the end of the brake arm. An over-centerspring 80 is connected between the catch I2 and a pin 82 carried by thefront wall I6, the tension of the spring tending to draw the oppositeends thereof towards each other. In the position of the parts shown inFig. l, the center of the pin I4 being to the right of the lineconnecting the ends of the spring 80, the spring tends to rotate thecatch I2 in a counter-clockwise direction, which rotation is limited bymeans of a stop $8 carried by the front wall l6. However, in theposition of the parts shown in Fig. 2 or 3, the center of the pin I4 isto the left of this line, and hence the spring 80 tends to rotate thecatch in a clockwise direction. Catch I2 is provided with an extension90 which is located so as to be struck by a projection 92 on link 64when the latter is moved downwardly, to thus pivot the catch in aclockwise direction so as to engage the hooks I6 and i8.

Secured to the catch I2 is a resilient arm 94 of generally U shape; Thefree end of this arm carries a short cylindrical rod 98 which. in theposition of the parts shownin Figs. 2 and 3, is

urged into frictional engagement with the drum 22 by the resiliency ofthe arm. However, in

the position of the parts shown in Fig. l, the member 96 is maintainedout of contact with.

reel 20 serving to wind up the spring 24. When the outward pull on thecord is relieved, the spring 24 immediately starts to rewind it byrotating the reel in a counter-clockwise direction, but as abovedescribed, the spring 46 applies the shoe to to the drum and tendency ofthe drum to rotate, in a counter-clockwise direction further increasesthe braking effect.

When it is desired to wind up the cord, the button 5 is momentarilydepressed. This pivots the lever 52 in a clockwise direction, thusmoving the link 64 downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 to thatillustrated in Fi 2. This movement of the link causes the upper end ofthe slot 66 therein to engage the pin 68 so as to move this end of thebrake arm downwardly, thus completely removing the shoe 40 from contactwith the brake drum. At the same time, the projection 92 on the link 6dstrikes the projection 90 on the catch I2, thus pivoting the latter in aclockwise direction so as to engage the hooks .16 and I8. -'1"hispivoting is first resisted by the over-center spring 86, but isthereafter aided by the spring, which hence tends to maintain the hooks'IB and I8 in engagement. Pivoting of the catch I2 also brings thefriction member 96 into engagement with the drum 22 and rotation of thisdrum in a counter-clockwise direction as the cord is wound up. tends tomove the member 52 in a counter-clockwise direction, the lost mospring48 urges the right hand end of the brake arm 32 upwardly so as to movethe shoe into frictional engagement with the drum. With the parts inthis position, any tendency of the drum to rotate in a counter-clockwisedirection under the influence of the spring 24, tends to further liftthe brake shoe 80, thus forcing it more tightly against the surface ofthe drum. The reaction tothis force is taken by the brake shoe 38, andthus this shoe is held in frictional engagement with the drum.Incidentally, the greater port on of the force which applies the shoesto the drum, thus is not transmitted to the shaft I8, but is carried bythe brake arm 32.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. l, the cord 26 may beunwound by grasping it and pulling it outwardly through the opening 28.This causes the reel 20, together with the'brake drum 22, to rotate in acounterclockwise direction. This rotation of the drum tends to move theshoe .40 downwardly and away from the drum, thus relieving thefrictional engagement between this shoe and the drum, the tension of thespring 46 being light enough so that it is substantially overcome by thetendency of the shoe 40 to be moved downwardly by the rotation of thedrum. Thus, the brake, when initially applied by the spring 46, isself-energizing in one direction, but is self-deenergizing in theopposite direction.

The cord may thus be pulled out to any desired extent, the accompanyingrotation of the tion provided between the pin 68 and the slot 66 in thelink 64 permitting this movement of the lever without moving the brakearm 32.

The brake is thus held in released position by the over-center spring80. This disengages the hooks I6 and 18, thus permitting the spring 48to move the brake shoe 40 into engagement with the drum. If the pull onthe cord ceases, the

rewind spring 24 starts to rotate the reel and drum in acounter-clockwise direction, thus energizing the brake as abovedescribed.

It will be noted that, during unwinding of the.

cord, the friction member 96 is completely removed from contact with thebrake drum so that it imposes no resistance to movement thereof.

Furthermore, it is entirely out of contact with the cord andconsequently dirt adhering to the latter has no effect on the action ofthe direction sensitive member 96.

- While I have shown and described one more or means inoperative tothereby permit winding of the cord, and means sensitive to the directionof rotation of said reel for maintaining said bralre means inoperativeduring rotation in said direction and for rendering said brake meansoperativein response to rotation of the reel in the opposite direction.

2. In a cord winder, a reel, a cord, means for rotating the reel in adirection to wind the cord ment with said rotating portion duringcontinued rotation in said opposite direction.

3. In a cord winder, a reel, a cord, means for rotating the reel in adirection to wind the cord thereon, brake means operative forrestraining rotation of said reel only in said direction, manuallyoperable means for rendering said braking means inoperative to therebypermit winding of the cord, a member frictionally engageable witharotating portion of saidreel'for maintaining a brake member frictionallyengageable with said drum, spring means constantly tending to apply saidmember to said drum, a manually operable member for releasing said brakemember from said drum, a catch member engageable with said brake memberfor maintaining the latter released from said drum, means responsive tooperation of said manually operable member for engaging said catchmember with said brake member, and means sensitive to rotation of saidreel in a direction unwinding the cord for disengaging said catch memberfrom said brake member to thereby permit said spring means to apply thebrake member to said drum.

7 In a cord winder, a' reel, a cord, a spring for rotating thereel in adirection to wind the cord thereon, a brake drum rotatable with saidreel,

a brake member frictionally engageable with said drum, spring meansconstantly tending to apply said member to said drum, a manuallyoperable member for releasing said brake member from said drum, a catchmember engageable with said brake member for maintaining the latterreleased means sensitive to rotation of said reel in a direcsaid brakemeans inoperative during rotationin said direction, means responsive tooperation of said manually operable means for moving said member intofrictional engagement with said rotating portion, said member beingresponsive to an initial rotation in the opposite direction forrendering said brake means operative,.and means for maintaining saidmember out of frictional engagement with said rotating portion duringcondrum, a manually operable member for'rele'asing.

said brake member from said drum, catch means for maintaining said brakemember released from said drum, and means sensitive to rotation of saidto said drum.:

from said drum, means responsive to operation of said manually operablemember 'for engaging said catch member with said brake member, and

tion winding the cord for maintaining said catch member-in engagementwith said brake member and sensitive to rotation of said reel in theopposite direction for disengaging saidcatch meniher from said brakemember to thereby permit said spring means to apply the, brake'member 18.. In a cord winder, a reel, a rotating the reel in a direction to windthe 'cord thereon, a brake drum rotatable with said reel,- a brakemember frictionally engageable with said drum, spring means constantlytending to apply said member tosaid drum, a manually operablemember forreleasing said brake member from reel in a direction unwinding the cordtherefrom for releasing said catch means to thereby permit thefirst-mentioned means to apply said brake member to said drum.

5. In a cord winder, a reel, a cord, a spring for rotating the reel in adirection to wind the cord thereon, a brake drum rotatable with saidreel, a brake member frictionally engageable with said drum forrestraining rotation of said reel, means tending constantly to applysaid member to said drum, a manually operable member. for releasing saidbrake member from said drum, catch means for maintaining said brakemember released from said drum, a catch member engageable with saidbrake member for'maintaining the latter released from said drum, meansresponsive 'to operation of said manually operable member for engagingsaid catch member with said brake member,

means frictionally engageable with said I drum andsensitive to rotationof said reel in a directionwinding the cord for maintaining said catchmember in engagement with said brake member and sensitive to initialrotation-of said reel in the opposite direction for disengaging saidcatch member from said brake member to thereby permit said spring meansto apply the brake-mem- [her to said drum, and means for maintaining thelast-mentioned means out of frictional engageq ment with said drumduring continued rotation of the reel in said opposite direction.

drum, spring means constantly tending to apply said member to said drum,a manually operable ing said catch means to thereby permit theflrstmember for releasing said brake member from 'said drum, a catchmember engageable with said to initial rotation of said reel in adirection unwinding the cord for disengaging said catch member frmn saidbrake member to thereby permit cord, aspring for reel, a brake memberfrictionally engageable with said drum, spring means constantly tendingto apply said member to said drum, a manually operable member forreleasing said brake mem- 7 her from said drum, a catch memberengageable with said brake member for maintaining the latter releasedfrom said drum, means responsive to operation of said manually operablemember for engaging said catch member with said brake v member, aresilient arm carried by said catch member frictionally engageable withsaid drum and sensitive to rotation of said reel in a direction windingthe cord for maintaining said catch member in engagement with said brakememberand sensitive to initial rotation of said reel in the oppositedirection for disengaging said catch member from said brake member tothereby permit said spring means to apply the brake member to the drum,and means maintaining said resilient arm out of frictional engagementwith said drum when said catch member is disengaged from said brakemember.

11. In a cord winder, a reel, a cord, a spring for rotating the reel ina direction to wind the cord thereon, a brake drum rotatable with saidreel, a brake member frictionally engageable with said drum, springmeans constantly tending to apply said member to said drum, a manually0perable lever, a bias spring acting on said lever,

link means providing a lost motion connection and sensitive to rotationof said reel in a dlrec-- tion winding the cord for maintaining saidcatch member in engagement with said brake member and sensitive toinitial rotation of said reel in the opposite direction for disengagingsaid catch member from said brake member to thereby permit said springmeans to apply the brake member to the drum, and means maintaining saidresilient arm out of frictional engagement with said drum when saidcatch member is disengaged from said LEON P. BORKOSKI.

